Soldier
by swaggyzebraTW
Summary: *Takes place during Maze Runner, the first book in the trilogy.* Minho and Thomas return from a day of Maze-running, and they discover that nothing has changed in the maze overnight. Tired, Thomas goes over to his special sleeping spot. Who will follow him? Newt/Thomas. T to be safe.


**A/N: Okay, so I've only read the first book, so this might be AU/OOC. I absolutely adore Newt, and so, since I couldn't really find anyone else I wanted to ship with him, I made this. I apologize for any mistakes in advance, and, like I just said, this is pretty much AU. I didn't really match up the timeline of events for the book. **

**Title based on the song, "Soldier" by Gavin DeGraw. I highly recommend listening to it. It's lovely. :P**

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**The Maze Runner**_** or any of the characters mentioned. All rights go to James Dashner and his people. **

By the time Minho and I made it out of the maze for the day, we were both panting and gasping heavily for air. My legs were more sore than they usually were after a day of running, and I blamed that on our decision to venture further into the maze than we usually did. For the oddest of reasons, we had made great times today, and Minho had said that we could make it even further and possibly even into the next section of the maze. I was pretty sure that I wasn't the only one regretting that decision now, especially after we ended up finding absolutely nothing during our entire day of running.

Minho collapsed to the ground before I did, but not by much, and Newt came running when he saw the shape we were both in.

"What the hell happened to you two?" He asked loudly, bending down beside the Keeper.

Minho coughed and tried to collect his breath. "We tried to go further today, and we did, but we didn't see anything."

"What are you standing around for, Shuckface?" Newt snapped at a Glader who had been walking back towards the homestead. "Get some water for these two people!"

The boy nodded nervously and scampered off towards the house. I felt a twinge of guilt for being the reason for Newt's unnecessary fussing and brutality.

"We're fine, really." I assured him, waving my hand dismissively. "Minho and I should just make it into the map room to draw up today's findings."

"No point," Minho choked. "Nothing changed since yesterday."

"What do you mean, 'nothin' changed?'" Newt asked.

I spoke before Minho could. "The maze… it hasn't changed any since yesterday. Everything's messed up."

Standing up, Newt threw his hands in the air. "Of course, because nothing's gone right since you and that stupid girl got here."

"She's not stupid—"

"Than what is she?" he snapped, his blonde hair falling more into his face. "I haven't seen her do anything for us _except _start this wackiness."

I sat up. "You know that wasn't actually her fault. In fact, I think she's one of our only hopes of getting out of this dump."

"Shut it—"

Minho coughed again, and he walked over to place a hand on one of Newt's stiffened shoulders. "I think he's right, Newt," he said, "and I think you do too."

"Whatever." The second-in-command said. "I do know that as of right now, we're shucked."

Minho only nodded and began to walk off. When he was a few yards away he threw over his shoulder, "I'm taking a nap, and when I wake up, we'll figure all of this shuck out. We can have a meeting then." He never once stopped walking, however, as if having an afterthought, he added, "You too, Greenie. Get some rest. You did good today."

Usually, my heart would have swelled with pride and elation at Minho's statement, but not today. I was too tired, and Newt was looking like he was in a foul mood.

As if reading my mind, Newt spoke. "Today wasn't a good day, Tommy. Not at all. Alby—Oh, poor Alby…"

I could only watch as tears gathered in Newt's eyes, as I didn't know how to console him. Alby was his best friend here, and the two had known each other for their entire time being in the Glade. Now, with Alby's outlooks on everything diminishing, the Glader's were relying more on Newt for a leader, and I was beginning to notice the toll it was taking on him.

"He's going to be okay, Newt." I said softly, pressing my hand to the boy's shoulder—just where Minho's had been a minute before. "Alby will be fine, and so will the rest of us. We'll find a way out, Newt, _I promise_."

It would have been wrong of me to make a promise that I could not keep, but I knew that for Newt I would do anything in my power to make him happy. And, deep down I really felt like I _could_ get us out of here. Safely.

"Yeah, yeah." Newt said, putting all of his emotional walls back up and removing all of the traces of his moment of weakness. "Just listen to Minho, take a nap for a while, and I'll wake you up for dinner. I'll have a meeting arranged for later tonight."

I nodded and began to walk over towards my usual spot under the dead trees. Guiltily enough, I wished that Chuck wouldn't come around as I tried to sleep. The boy could be the best of friends, but he could also be talkative, and I didn't want to have to deal with him. It was only an hour and a half until dinner, and I didn't want to waste a minute of rest.

Laying down on the browned grass, I pulled the blankets on top of me and let my eyes close as I speedily fell asleep.

~Line Break~

"Tommy," a voice said, rousing me from my sleep. "Wake up. It's time for dinner."

My eyes snapped open, and I was met with the sight of Newt, who was shaking my shoulders gently and grinning crookedly despite his obvious attempts at scowling.

"What's Frypan offering?" I asked, moaning slightly as I forced myself back onto my feet. "Anything good?"

Newt shrugged. "Spaghetti, I think. The Keepers' meeting is right after it, and you'll be coming."

As we began walking towards the homestead, I asked about Minho, who seemed like he wouldn't want the meeting at least until tomorrow. "Did Minho agree to that?"

Newt shook his head. "The Shuck-head can be a great Runner, but he seriously needs to see that some things are more important than him and his beauty-sleep."

I chuckled at that, and took a plateful of dinner from Frypan's offering hands. Newt did the same, and we walked over to our usual table with Chuck.

Dinner passed uneventfully, and Chuck talked my ear off for the entirety of it. I felt bad for not listening to him, but my mind was too busy swimming with thoughts of the meeting. _Was Alby going to be there, and if so, what would he say?_

Also, for the oddest of reasons, my mind was filled less with the new girl—Theresa—and more with Newt. I couldn't quite place it, but it felt as though something had shifted between us. I found myself thinking more about how his blonde hair fell into his face, and how his eyes reflected the evening light beautifully—

"Yo, Tommy!" Newt said, waving his hand in front of my face. "Are you coming to the meeting or not?"

I blinked a couple times, shaking my head clear. "Yeah, of course. Sorry."

A lone laugh escaped him, and together we walked over to meet the rest of the Keepers. We were one of the last people to get there, and I was surprised to see a fairly-grumpy Minho sat in the seat beside Zart. He was scowling, and I felt Newt try to suppress a chuckle at the sight of the Keeper.

"You should have seen him when I first woke him up," Newt whispered. "I thought he was going to go through the bloody Changing solely because of all of his anger."

I laughed at that, and took the only empty seat, which, sadly, was not next to Newt, who had taken his usual seat next to Alby.

"Okay," he announced, "We have some stuff to work out, so I hereby start this meeting."

Chatter ensued, and I was forced to watch as the hell went down.

~Line Break~

It was a whole hour before the meeting was over, and Newt walked me over to my sleeping area at the end of it.

"That was certainly _interesting_." Newt said as he sat down next to me under the dead trees.

"Yeah," I agreed. "Are the meetings usually that chaotic?"

He shook his head, and some of his hair fell into his eyes. "No, Alby has never lost his bloody shit before, and Gally usually acts a little more sane and civil than that. Winston's always an ass, though."

I nodded, taking in the beauty of Newt's angular facial features. His jawline was defined, along with his cheekbones, and his hips were quirked into yet another small grin. I found myself wanting to bury my fists into his hair, and kiss those—

_Where the heck did that come from?_ I asked myself, looking away quickly as a blush rose to my face.

"Earth to Thomas," Newt said. "I asked you if you're running the maze tomorrow?"

"Sorry," I whispered quickly, embarrassment clear in my voice. "But, I can only assume so. Minho says that there's no point in stopping now."

Newt nodded, and silence fell between us. I leaned back against the wall of the maze, and let my eyes close. I waited to hear him leave, but when I heard nothing after a few minutes, I thought that he must have left without my hearing him.

"Why do I keep thinking about you this way, Newt?" I asked, planning for the question to go unanswered and evaporate into the trees.

"Like what?" Newt asked from beside me, scaring me enough to make me jump up and open my eyes in surprise.

I gulped. "Nothing! I was just… mumbling to myself. Maybe I'm going crazy, or I'm just a little over-tired—"

I was cut off when I was tackled to the ground, and I instantly felt Newt's thin lips upon mine. His hands wove into my hair, and he straddled my stomach—pinning me to the ground.

At first, I didn't move. I was still, and simply let all of the unfamiliar feelings of being kissed crash over me. Never before had I felt this _intimate_ with someone, and certainly not a guy. But, as Newt continued to move his lips along mine, I began to enjoy it, and kissed him back.

His tongue licked at my lower lip, and with a gasp, I opened my mouth up and allowed his tongue entrance. My hands moved from my sides to Newt's, and I worked them up and under his dirty tank-top. He sighed happily from above me, and we broke the kiss after another minute. We both gasped for air, and a smile worked its way onto my lips.

"I feel the same." Newt said, smiling crookedly and revealing an imperfection on one of his teeth. "Always have, Tommy."

"Why didn't we do that before, then?" I asked him, still breathing heavily under Newt.

"I thought you liked that girl—Theresa."

It was the first time I had heard him actually call her by her name, but I didn't think about it for very long. Newt was the only thing on my mind. "Of course not, you shank! She hasn't even been conscious for most of this time!"

"But, you can communicate with her telepathically."

I shrugged. "It makes my head hurt afterwards, but yeah."

Newt frowned. "Do you like her?"

I shook my head and pretended to gag. "As I just told you, no. She seems bossy."

"I can be bossy, too."

I grinned at that. "Yeah, but your kind of bossy is a lot more…hot."

"My, my." Newt said almost seductively, leaning down closer to me. "Did you just call my hot, Tommy?"

"I think I just did," I said boldly, before pulling his lips back down to mine in another kiss.

**A/N: Okay, I hope that wasn't too crappy. Sorry if it was, but please review regardless. It means a lot, thanks! And remember people, the movie is coming! :D I'll definitely write more for this fandom if you guys want!  
**


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